Click here for Part I of this article Power Setup You don't need to read your electric bill to know that outdoor Christmas lights can draw a huge amount of power. 100 feet of incandescent C9 bulbs, for instance, draw 3 and half times more power than most televisons! Needless to say, if you plug too many light strings into one plug, you will quickly overload that circuit. Most homes have a 16 amp plug in the front and back yard; however, that circuit is usually shared with a room in the home, so not all 16 amps are usable. If you are planning a large Christmas light display, it is wise to calculate...

By Maria Bargellini or DFW Chritmas Lights.com Continuation of another article: Christmas Lights Dallas: DIY Lighting--Part I 4. Should I start with the lights on or off? There's nothing worst then hitting the switch on the tree just to see that the hardest lights to get to don't work. Plug in light strings before putting them on the tree. Plugging in lights allows you to find missing or burned out bulbs before you decorate your tree and helps you to evenly distribute the lights throughout the tree. 5. Do I need a Surge protector? Yes, we recommend the use of surge protectors. Plug light...

By Maria Bargellini, president of DFW Christmas Lights Want to do your own lights? Great--here are some thing to consider and tips to help you get started. 1. Which lights can you connect together? This is by far the biggest mistake people make. Here are some rules to live by. Do not connect mini lights of different numbers together-never connect a 100 light set to a 50 light set. If you do, the 50 light set will burn out prematurely. The same goes for any other combination. Do not connect different bulb types together. LED strands and mini lights burn at different voltages and will burn...

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